Cage press



CAGE PRESS.

FILED NOV. 28. 1921. 7 SHEETS-SHEET I- IN VEN TOR A TTORNE Y Mar. 20,1923,

C. F. STEHLIN.

CAGE PRESS.

FILED N0v.28.1921.

7 SHEETS SHEET 3- TTORNE Y Mar. 20, 1923.

C. F. STEHLIN.

CAGE PRESS FILED NOV.2-8. 1921.

? SHEETSSH'EET 4- TTORNEY h. w. LL

is; i

C. F. STEHLIN.

CAGE PRESS.

man NQV. 28. 1921.

Mar. .20, 1923.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

WTTORN Y Mar, 20, 1923. o. F. STEHLlN.

CAGE PRESS.

FILED NOV. 28, 19 21. 7 SHEETSSHEET'6- Mar. 20, 1923.

C. F. STEHLIN.

CAGE PRESS.

FILED NOV. 2; 1921.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

@wo o o o O o o 0 Q BYM/ I w WfZgORNEY of New Rochelle,

. and cooked co Patented Mar. 20, 1923.-

CHARLES F. STEHLIN, OF NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK.

CAGE rnnss.

Application and November as, 1921.

To all whom it may concern.-

-Be it known that I, CHAnLEs F. Sreirhm,

United States, and a resident county of VVestchester, and State of NewYork, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Cage Presses,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to cage presses, such as are used for expressingoil from ground ra meal and the like. While the invention 15 of broadapplication to various materials, it will herem be described moreparticularly with respect to a copra a citizen of the press.

The principal objects of the invention are the following:

The provision of outlet ducts for the expressed oil, which are of veryeatly enlarged capacity as compared wit thepresent practice, therebyaffording rapid and extensive egress for the oil and enabllng theoperation of expressing the oil to be carried on more efficiently and ina much shorter time than is possible with present practice;

of the oil outlet ducts The construction and related parts is such as tosubstantially to permit ready prevent clogging and cleaning thereof,thereby keeping the oil outlet devices of the press in a state ofsubstantially maximum efiicienc at all times, and enablin the operationof oil expressing t0 be spee ed up, and securing increased output from-apress installation.

The provision of improved separator plates interposed between the layersof meal in the cage, and adapted to permit the passage of 011 from theinterior of the mass to the oil outlet devices rapidly and efiiciently.

The provision of improved top and bottom cage plates provided withgrooves, recesses or the like, about their edges, and such bottom platebeing adapted to prevent the solid parts of the material being pressedfrom getting packed between. the hydraulic ram and the sides of thecage, as has heretofore been possible, and has resulted in the stickingor binding of the press plunger and interfering with its withdrawal bygravity.

The provision of improved means for keeping the oil passages of thepress free from accumulation of the solid material being pressedtherein, and preventing clogging of such passages.

- view taken Serial No. s1a2oa Further objects of the invention willappear in connection with the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this s ecification, Ihave shown,certain p-referre embodiments of my invention, but it is tobe understood that the same are only for the purpose of illustration andfor affording an understanding of' the invention, and not forlimitation.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view'showing a cage containing a chargeof meal being subjected to pressure in a so-called finishing press, thesection being taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a sectional viewtaken on line 22, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a ca e endplate. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken artially on line 4-4of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 1s a bottom plan view ,of a presshead showing steampipe connections thereto. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail viewtaken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a perspective'view ofseparator plates embodying my invention. Fig. 8 is a sectional detailview taken on line 88 of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of acage lining plate illustrating a preferred form of oil outlet groove andinsert, the section being taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is alongitudinal sectional view of a cage lining plate taken on line 1010,Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 9, but showing amodification and is taken on line 1111, of Fig. 13. Fig. 12 is alongitudinal sectional view taken on line 1212, Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is across-sectional view slmilar to Figs. 9 and 11, and taken on line 1313.Fig. 14.. Fig. 14 is a longitudinal sectional on line 14-44 of Fig. 13.Fig. 15 1s a part sectional and part elevational view of a modifiedformof .insert for the oil outlet ducts. Fig. 16 is a sectional view of afurther modified form similar to Figs. 9, 11 and 13, and taken on line16-16 of Fig. 17. Fig. 17 is a longitudinal sectional view takenon'line- 17l7 of Fig. 16. Fig. 18 is a topend view of a cage showingsteam inlet openings in the cover plates thereof. Fig. 19 is a detailcross-sectional view taken on line 19 19 of Fig. 18. Fig. 20 is alongitudinal sectional view of a modified form of press cage in whichthe vertical oil grooves are provided with a series of outlets extendinto the exterior of the cage at graduated heights. Fig. 21 is a,

' used with the cage of Fig. 22. Fig. 24 is a cross-sectional view online 2 t 24 of Fig;

23. Fig. 25 is a detail sectional view showing a modified form ofholding means for the coiled wire duct groove insert, of Fig. 9, andFig. 26 is a fragmentary face view showing an outlet groove insert, asshown in cross-sectionin Figs. 9

draulic ram, and

Reference character 10 designates the hypreferably made up of a heavysteel casting charge, and which has an outlet for the 'oil 12 having thepress chamber 13therein lined .with the plates 14, containing the oiloutlet ges and grooved out behind the plates 14:,- as shown at 15, toprovide drains for the oil pressed out through the passages in platen.Presshead 16 holds the cage down against the action of ram '10, and 17is the oil pan into which the oil grooves 15 disat 18. a

The parts so far described are of conventional form and theirconstruction and arrangementmay be extensively varied, as will bereadily understood.

Oil outlet ducts for the cage plates.

It has been customary heretofore to provide the cage plates with aseries of straight grooves having oil duct openings not to exceed abouttwo or three hundredths of an inch in width at the surface of the plate,and widening out into comparatively wide grooves behind the surface. ofthe plate, these enlarged grooves in turn communicating throu h holes inthe back of the plate with the drain grooves formed in the cage casting.Such duct openings have been made extremely narrow in order to prevent,so far \as possible, the passage of solid matter therethrough, butnotwithstanding this, more or less solid matter does get through, andsooner or later fills up the grooves, and after use for a comparativelyshort time it becomes necessary to remove the plates and clean them,as-by boiling in strong soda solution, which is a troublesome job and islikely to result in production of low grade oil unless extremeprecautions are taken to completely remove the alkali The production oflarge capacity oil out let ducts, in addition to being of importance ingetting a rapid and desirably high oil extraction, is of greatimportance in other directi ons. -For example, when there is a cloggingup of the outlet ducts through which the oil should pass out from themeal contained in the. compartment between two and having customarilyplaced with a coiled wire' 11 a press cage which is.

helix. devices .of this character it is possible to separator platesupon application of pressure, andthe outward passage of oil is preventedby such clogging, the oil must escape elsewhere, and so breaks throughpast the separator plate or plates and the separator pads, of camelshair or the like, which are next to the. separator plate and on eachside thereof, into the next compartment whose outlet ducts are not sogod, and from which the oil can escape. In practically all cases the oilbreaking through in this manner from one compartment to another carries,with it a considerable amount of the solid material of the 'meal,- whichresults in the production of thin places in the cake formed betweenseparator plates, where the outlets are clogged up, and in thickenedplaces in the cake formed in oil and solid material escapes before theoil can get to unclogged ducts.

This unevenness. of cakes-produced, while objectionable and troublesome,is by no means the greatest harm which results, since under the enormoushydraulic pressure of several thousand pounds per square inch theseparator plates are bent out of shape and the expensive camels hairpads are injured or actuallytorn, so that great expense and trouble areencountered in carrying on pressing operations. 7 p

Furthermore, when such malformed cakes are produced by reason ofclogging up of oil ducts in the manner described, the plates and cakesare likely to bind inthe cage and require the application of extremelyhigh hydraulic pressure in breaking out the cakes after the pressingoperation is completed, which may result in injury not only to the cageplates and pads, but to the cage and pressing apparatus generally.

An object of the present invention is to provide oil outlet means inwhich the defects heretofore encountered are substantially eliminated,which provide high capacity outlet ducts for the oil and aresubstantially free from clogging. I

In one way in which these and related advantageous results are attainedin accordance with my invention, a series of longitudinal grooves areprovided in the cage plates, which grooves are of substantial width,sayin the neighborhood of 1 a" to 1 wide, though the precise dimensionsmay be varied considerably in practice. In these grooves whichcommunicate at their back with the oil passages in the cage castingthrough holes as heretofore, are insert devices adapted to provideextensive extremely narrow and minute ducts for outlet of the oil and ofsuch character to prevent clogging. A preferred groove insert is made upof relatively closely coiled wire wound in the form of a long It will beseen that with oil outlet the compartment into which the wire,

.by what I may to movement lengthwise oil? with the oil, instead of keepthe oil' passages of the necessary minute width 'as to substantiallyexclude solid particles passing therethrough, and at the same time tosecure a total area or extent of oil outlet passages for each groovevery many times in excess of what was possible with the outletsheretofore used. Outlets for the oil are provided on each side of thecoiled wire, between it and the walls of the groove, such outlets beingof greatest width intermediate between each of the coils of as will bereadily understood, and furthermore, passages are provided extendingtransversely of the groove between the adjacent turns of the coils, thussecuring many times the oil outlet passage space heretofore available. v

With oil outlet devices constructed in the manner just described, I havefound that very advantageous results can be obtained in the direction ofprevention of clogging refer to as creeping or breathing of the coilinserts. The coil to be inserted in the tube is most conveniently madeby winding the wire on a mandrel, and upon inserting it in the groove,it is preferably stretched somewhat between its opposite ends to widenout or open up to some extent the transverse oil passages between theadjacent turns of the coil. As the material is compressed within thecage and' subjected of the cage plates containing the inserted coils, ittends to move the contacted portions of the coil along withit, and suchslight longitudinal movement of the coils in their grooves as takesplace during the pressing operation, is of great advantage in that anyparticlescof solid material entering the grooves do not become lodgedpermanently 1n a particular spot for the adhesion of other 'particlesthereto,'thereby building up a clogging mass. but the particles aredisplaced by the breathing or creeping action of the coil and runbecoming lodged and forming nuclei for the collection of particles whichwill result in clogging the drains.

The surface of the inserted coils which is exposed at the openings ofthe grooves on the face of the cage plates, is preferably smoothed off,as with an emery wheel or the the 011 like, in order to prevent samebeing taken hold of too strongly by material being subjected to highcompression in the cage, and the grooves into which these coils areinserted are preferably undercut and the coils inserted lengthwise fromthe end of the cage plates. Y While wire coils such as above describedare preferably made use of as inserts for grooves in the cage plates,various other types of inserts can be used, if desired.

The preferred form of oil duct arrangement is shown in Figs. 9, 10, 25and 26. The

ably dressed ofi' flat after cage plates 14 have circular incross-section possible, having a narrowed mouth or o n-- ing 21 androunded sides 22, 23. Preferably tapered holes 24 extend from the baseof grooves to the rear of plate 14, and free passage from one to anotherof the holes 24 is' facilitated by forming a relatively shallowauxiliary groove 25 in the rear of the principal groove 20.

The coi ed wire 26 is introduced into groove 20 from the end thereof,and is held 1n place, preferably at each end, by any suitable means.In-F1g. 10 I have shown how it may be held b bored to provi e a suitableanchor for the solder. Such fastening may be readily leased, whendesired, as by the application of a blow-torch.- In Fi 25 I have shownthe coil held in place by 'an expanding and clamplng screw 28. In Figs.11 and 12.1 have shown how a'binding wire 29 may be passed through thecoil and anchored in the plate, as by having its turned over end 30inserted in a hole 31, and other fastening means may be used, so long asthe coil is securely held, but yet can be removed, if desired.

Filtering material, such as preferably twisted strands 32 of camelshair, cord or the like, may be placed within the coil 26, if desired, asshown in Figs. 13 and 14, in order to reduce the quantity of solidmaterial passing out with the oil.

Fig. 26 serves to show the enormous capaclty of mv improved oil outletpassages or ducts. here are three principal divisions of these ducts,the oil being permitted to pass out on each side of the coil 26 betweenit and the groove wall, cated at 32,33, and these ducts are widestbetween the convolutions as indicated at 34:. Transverse ducts 35 arealso provided between the -convolutions of the coil, so that for eachgroove narrow oil ducts are provided, whose combined length is severaltimes the carrying capacity is correspondingly great. The oil carryingcapacity of the ducts for the separate grooves is so greatly increasedby application of the present invention that the number of oil groovesmay be substantially reduced, as compared with prior practice, and as ageneral rule the provision of two oil outlet ducts for each of the oilpassages 15 in the cage is suflicient, though a greater number may beprovided, if desired.

The outer surface of the coil 26 is preferthe coil has been secured inplace, as indicated at 37, Fig. 9, so as to present as smooth a surfaceas possible to the meal being pressed.

More or less movement of the coil longigrooves- 20 formed,therein,'which are preferablyfm'ade as near as is conveniently solder, arecess 27 being length of the groove, and whose oil the variousoperations of filling the cagg,

. age groove comprises pressing and breaking cake, and the li whichserve to'prevent any solid .particles frombecoming permanently lodged ina particular spot to'start accumulation and ultimate chokin the lodgedparticles being loosened in t e manner described pass out with the oil,from which they may be reinlpved by sedimentation, filtration and theWhile a preferable insert for the oil draina coiled wire as described,and adapted to creep more or less in the groove, at least a portion ofthe advantages of my invention may be secured by the use of inserts ofvarious forms, such for example, as the twisted square wire insert 38shown. in Fig. 15. I v

Another of the various alternative forms of inserts which may beutilized is shown in Figs. 16 and 17 and consists in a pair of roundwires 38 and 38 twisted together into substantially cylindrical form.

Gage press plates.

.lng layer of felt or the like on each side.

The separator plates are preferablysprovidedwith ducts of extensive areaand in substantiall the same manner as already described 1n connectionwith the cage lining plate ducts.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a separator plate 39 of the usual substantiallysquare form, provided with undercut grooves 40' arranged at right anglesto one another on the opposite faces of the plate, coiled wire inserts41 to provide extensive oil ducts, as alread described in connectionwiththe cage lining plates. The central opening in the coil affords easypassag of oil to the ends of the grooves.

'Heavy steel plates are customarily used for separator plates, and thesame may be made use of in accordance with myinvention and provided withgrooves and inserts as just described. However, with the ample provisionwhich I provide for drainage and oil through the cage walls, therebyeliminating the causes of thin places in the cakes as already describedand consequent bending and malformation of the separator plates,

it is not necessary to make use of material as strong as or heavyas thesteel plates for this purpose, and various other materials may beutilized, such as sheets or plates of fibre and the like.

In order to secure short travel for the oil in its assage to the cagewells, I haveshown p about the edges thereof before a pad is 1na moified form of separator plate 42 in and provided with sides of the presschamber 13', as shown in Fig. 22.

hetop and bottom cage plates 43' and 44 are preferably made quite th ckand heavy, so as to permit the use of a cage chamber substantiallylarger than the cross section of the ram to thereby revent binding.of\tlhe ram and the cage walls.

The edges of these heavy end plates are by solid material gettingbetween it recessed in a manner adapted to afford an anchorage thereinfor com ressed solid material which gets between t e end plates and thecage walls. In the form shown, a series of shallow recesses made bydrilling shallow drill holes 45, is provided about the inner edge of theplates, that is to say, in the case of the bottom plate, about the upperedge thereof which comes next to the material to be compressed. Belowthis row of drill holes 45.there is provided in the edge of the lowerplate 43 a substantially half-round groove 46, extending about'the edgeof the plate at substantiall the middle thereof, and finally the angu arroove47 near the bottom of the plate, having a substantially squareedge, as indicated at 48. All or part 0 the anchoring recesses orgrooves may be used, or anchoring recesses of other forms may be madeuse of, so long as they will serve to secure the same purpose.

The top and bottom plates 44 and 43 are made small enough to allow asubstantial clearance between them and the walls of the cage. ample, andhaving a chamber 18 inches across, a clearance of {inch on each side mabe leftbetween the bottomplate and the walls at the bottom of the cage.The chamber in the cage is preferably slightly enlarged on a gradualtaper from the bottom to the top, as for example, the lateral dimensionat the top may be made 4 inch greater than that at the bottom, by giving'the chamber the slight outward flare from bottom to top of about 1}inch on each side. With such arrangement there is a clearance of about1} inch on all sides between the end plates and the cage walls at theupper end of the cage chamber. The particular figures just given are, ofcourse, illustrative only and are merely intended to give an idea of thedegree of taper which may be used in a particular instance.

In filling the cage a handful of meal is referably distributed upon thebottom plate With a cage-5 ft. long, for exf c maawa serted, and thefilling proc'eeded with in the usual way, with alternating layers ofmeal and separator plates with pads on each side thereof. This materialentering the clearance space between the cage plates and bottom pressplate is compressed therein and 'orms a thin cohesive layer 49 whichbulges on the sides next to the plate formed by the material enteringthe anchoring recesses therein, and thereby form substantially ananchored dam, which travels upwardly with the bottom plate and preventsoil from passirlig 'down past the edges of the\bottom p ate.

The top cage plate 44 which is placed in the cage when the filling is'completed is preferably constructed in the same way as the bottom cageplate 43, but is, of course, arranged in the reverse position down withrespect to the bottom plate.

The bottom cage plate. being constructed as described not only enablesthe use of a ram having a substantially smaller crosssectionthan that ofthe cage chamber and which will not bind therein, but is of specialadvantage in that it is substantiallyfirml-y held in position in amovable cage in which the charge has been partially compressed frombelow, and when such movable cage is being transferred from the fillingpress to the finishing press, the dam of solid material collecting aboutthe edges of the plate and between it and the cage serves not only toprevent the outward passage of oil, but serves as a substantiallywedge-like support for maintaining the bottom plate and the charge abovethe same in its position in the cage. This feature is of greatimportance since the dropping of the bottom plates in the cage when thematerial is being moved to the finishing press has been a frequent causeof interference with and slowing up of pressing operations, it beingnecessary in such case to move the cage back to the filling operationcan be further 7 extending longitudinally of press and refill the cagebefore the pressing proceeded with.

. Gage cleaner a nd heater.

Provision is made for the frequent removal of lodged solid particlesfrom the drain passages in the cage back of the lining plates, and inthis way clogging of these passages issubstantially prevented and thepressing operation kept at substantially maxi-mum efiiciency.

The preferred means for this purpose comprises a series of steam jetsarranged in the under surface of the presshead and adapted to register,when the cage is in elevated position with the vertical drain passagesthe cage.

Steam admitted through the supply means at the head of the press to thedrain passages in the cage finds its outlet primarily to the or upsidethe press, temporarily and by turning on steam for a short time,preferably when the cage s empty, permanent'lodgment of solid materialand subsequent progressive clogging thereof is prevented. Also thesteam. escapes to some extent through the ducts in the cagelining platesand assists in kee ing samefree from lodgment of solid particlestherein."

While other the like, the purpose referred to, I use of steam, or atleast of ticularly when pressing copra meal, in order to keep the cageup to the desirably high temperature required for getting the bestresults in pressing operations. Furthermore, it is a distinct advantage,particularly in cold weather, to leave the steam valve cracked openduring the night, or from an early morning hour, so

fluids, as compressed air and preferably make heated fluid,parmaterials, such as that when the days work is started the pressapparatus, and articularly the cages will be at the desired relativelyhigh temperature for the start of operations, thereby avoiding the firstfew unsatisfactory runs usually made when starting up for the days work,which usually continue until the press.-

the presshead with jet outlets 54 which are directed downwardly andwhich are preferably surrounded by suitable packing means, as washers55. of leather, fibre or the like inserted in recesses 56.

The top plate 57 for the cage 11 has inlet openings 58 formed thereinopposite the upper ends of the ca e drain passages 15 pipe 50 supportedin and extending about supply pipes as 51, 52. 'The header and inregistration with the jet outlet 54, v

and in order tominimize entrance of solid material therein, as whenfilling or removing charges ofmeal, the inlet openings 58 are tapered,being made only: large enough at their upper ends to permit the entranceof the fluid jets and widening out below to secure access of steam tothe drain passages 15, which are preferably of comparatively largesection, and which communicate with the horizontal outlet passages 59 inthe drainage pan '17 at the bottom of the cage.

Anv alternative type of steam pipe inlets is shown in Figs. and 21inwhich the cage passages 15 have openings 60 commumcating therewith andextending to the outside of the cage at graduated heights along the cagewalls, and the pi e connections for steam inlet may be ma e at anydesired opening or openings. These passages 60 are usually left open andserve as indicators to show Whether clogging has taken place, as 'forexample, if in pressing one of these openings, th1s serves to show thatthe passage is clogged below the point, and the passage may be cleared,as by admission of steam at an outlet lower down in the passage. ,7

It will be seen that a press in accordance with my invention hasnumerous important features of advantage contributing ]01I1tly tocontinued good yields of oil or other fluid being rapidlyexpresse'd, andhigh efiiciency in operation, among which may be mentioned thefollowing: The oil is conducted through self cleaning duct containingdevices to and through the cage walls, resulting in good oil yields andcakes of uniform thickness, and avoiding bent separator plates andinjured filter ads attendant upon. the presence ofclogge oil ducts.Lodgment of solid particles in the ducts and outlet passages andconsequent clogging thereof is.

substantially prevented. The cage and other press parts are readilyheated as required and binding of the press ram 1n the cage is avoided.

The term press plate used in my clalms is used as a matter of verbalconvenience to designate a separator press plate or a chamber wall plateor their equivalents.

'It is to be understood that the invention includes changes andmodifications which may be resorted to within the scope of my claims.

I claim:

1. In a press, a press plate having a fluid discharge groove formedtherein and an insert member in said groove, and providing fluid passageducts between it and the grodve walls. I 1

2. In a press, a press plate having a fluid discharge groove and aninsert member therein providing. fluid passage ducts extendingtransversely thereof.

3. In apress, a press plate having a fluid discharge groove therein, aninsert member in said groove providing fluid discharge ducts between itand. the groove walls, and also ducts extending transversely of theinserted member.

4.. In a press, a press plate provided with fluid discharge grooves, andw1th coiled wire inserts in said grooves.

5. In a press, a press plate provided with fluid discharge grooves andinserts therein, adapted for'limited local endwise movement within thegroove.

8. In a press, a press plate provided with undercut oil dischargegrooves and coiled wire inserts loosely fitting in said grooves, andheld in place therein at their ends, and having a flattened surface atthe open sides of the grooves.

9. In a press, a press plate having undercut grooves therein on the faceexposed to material being pressed, and inserts in said grooves adaptedto provide oil ducts extendlng through the inserts.

10. In a press, a press plate having.

grooves opening to finely divided material being pressed, and a coilinsert loosely received in said grooves.

11. In apress, a press plate havin grooves opening in the face thereofexpose to material being pressed, an inserted member in said grooves,providing fluid ducts therethrough and therearound, and fluid outletopenings being provided in communication with the grooves behind theinserted member.

12. In a press, a press late having under cut grooves opening on t eface thereof exposed to material being pressed, and provided with fluidoutlet openings in rear of said grooves and communicating therewith, anda coiled wire insert loosely received in said grooves, with the turnsthereof normally somewhat out of contact with one another, and fastenedin the neighborhood of its ends only, and having a substantially smoothsurface on the side exposed at the open side of the groove.

13. In a press, a press plate provided with undercut grooves having anarrowed extension groove in rear thereof and fluid outlet openingscommunicating with said extension groove, and insert members looselyreceived in said undercut grooves providing fluid outlet ductstherethrough and therearound.

14. In a press, a press plate provided with grooves opening on the sideexposed to material being pressed, and insert members therein adaptedfor localized longitudinal displacement within said roove.

15. In a press, a press p ate provided with grooves opening on the sideexposed to material being pressed, and insert members in.

said grooves adapted for creeping movement within the groove under theaction of material being. pressed.

on the face thereof exposed to permit the use of -rial getting between1t cages, having on its 1 groove having a I 16. he press, an end platefor the press cage, having a substantial clearancebetween it and thecagewalls, and anchored means on the edges of the plate whereby solidmaterial massed between the late and cage wall is retained in contactwith the plate. In a press, a cage, a press plate adapted to'be receivedin the cage with a clearance between it and the cage walls, and recessesprovidedin the edge of the plate whereby solid material accumulatingabout they edges of the plate is substantially anchored thereto andcarried along with the plate during the movement of the latter in thecage.

18. In a press, a cage having a slightly tapering longitudinallyextending chamber therein, and a cage end press plate adapted to bereceived in the cage with a clearance therearound,-and recesses in theedge of the plate adapted to receive solid material entering theclearance space and retaining same in. position to move with the plate.

19. A cage end ,plate for cage presses adapted to fit in its cage with aclearance therearound, and having recesses in itsedges adapted toreceive solid material entering between the cage and the plate, and toretain same in position tomove with the plate.

20. A cage end plate for press cages of substantial thickness and havinga plurality of series of recesses or grooves in its edges, whereby solidmaterial is prevented from getting past the late, and a'press ram ofsection substantia ly smaller than the section of the cage chamber maybe used, and the ram kept from being jammed by solid mateand the cagewalls.

21. A bottom end cage plate for press cage, having means on its .edgesfor collecting and. retaining solid'material in place between it and thecage, whereby the plate is supported in position to hold a .partiallycompressed charge within the cage.

22. A bottom end press plate for press edges a sharp angled groove.

23. A bottom end cage press plate for press cages, having on its edges aroundedf groove and a sharp angled groove adjacent to, the roundedgroove.

24. A bottom end press plate for press cages, having on its edges aseries of sepa-' rated recesses, 'a rounded groove and a sharp anglededge.

25. A bottom end press plate for press cages of substantial thicknessand adapted a ram ofv much smaller section than the section of theplate, said plate having recessed parts thereof comprising a series ofshallow separated openings ad acent to itsinner surface, around'bottomed groove adjacent to said series of openings, and a second.groove of angular cross section adjacent to the round bottomed grooveand having its bottom wallmat subcontaining fluid ducts stantially rightangles to the edge of the plate.

26. In a press, a cage provided with plates containin fluid ducts andwith fluid outlet passages ehind the plates, and means for admittingfluid, as steam, to said passages.

27. In a press, a cage provided with plates and with fluid outletpassages behind the plates, and means for admitting fluid, such assteam, to said passages at one end thereof.

28. In a press, a cage provided with plates containing fluid ducts andwith fluid outlet passages behind the plates, extending throughout theheight of the cage, and having outlets at the bottom and a pressheadprovided with means for admitting fluid, such as steam, to the saidpassages at the up per ends thereof. 7 I

29. In a press, a presshead provided witha series of steam jet openings,and acage having oil outlet passages adapted to register with said,jets.

30. In a press, a cage having a series of vertical-fluid passages openat the bottom, and having reduced openlngs at the top, and a pressheadprovided with jets for fluids, such as steam, adapted to register withsaid reduced openings when the cageis in place in the press.

31. In combination, a press cage provided with longitudinal fluid outletpassages open at the bottom and having plates over the top thereof, saidplates being provided with apertures incommunication with said passages,a .press head having steam jets adapted to register with said apertures,and packing means about said jets.

32. A press cage having a chamber lined with plates containing fluidducts and having fluid outlet passages in rear of said ducts, and meansfor admitting. steam to are slodged from the 33. A press cage having achamber lined with lates containing fluid outlet grooves provi ed withinserted members forming ducts therethrough and therearound, andhavingyfluid outlet passages in rear of said grooves, and means foradmitting steam to said passages, whereby lodged solid particles aredislodged from the passages and the ducts.

34. In a press, a press cage having a longitudinally extending presschamber of which one cross sectional dimension is substantially largerthan the other, and press plates and separator plates therefor, theseparator plates being provided with fluid outlet passages extendingonly to their longer sides.

35 In a press, a press cage having a chamber therein, which isrelatively narrow in one cross sectional dimension and relatively widein the other, and is provided with fluid passages and ducts.

not

said (passages, whereby lodged solid particles outlet ducts on the widersides only and only, and separator plates of a form to be .10 separatorplates therefor having fluid outlet received in said cage and havingfluid outlet .1 passa es extending transversely thereof. groovesextending transversely thereof only, 36. n a press, a press cage havinga chamsaid grooves having duct forming inserts 6 her therein which isrelatively narrow in one therein and being arranged in staggered recrosssectional dimension, and relatively lation on the opposite sides of theplates. wide in the other, and is provided with fluid In testimonythat-l claim the foregoing 1 outlet grooves having locally movable ducthave signed my name hereto. forming inserts therein in, its widest sidesCHARLES F. STEHLIN,

